Netflix now used by 1/3 of Anglophone Canadians: study

Despite relatively low cost, service is more likely to be used by affluent households

Chris Powell
July 16, 2014

Orange is the New Black is helping Netflix make lots of green in Canada, with nearly one third (32%) of Anglophone Canadians now subscribing to the streaming video service, up from 25% a year ago.

According to new data from the Media Technology Monitor (MTM) spring 2014 survey, just over one third of all Anglophone subscriptions are to Netflix’s U.S. version, as users seek out additional content unavailable in Canada. Another 2% of subscribers say they have used the U.S. version in the past.

The report says it is unclear if a recent price hike to $9 a month for new subscribers will slow Netflix’s Canadian growth. However, despite the relatively low cost of a monthly subscription, affluent Anglophones are more likely to subscribe to the service than lower-income households.

The report found that 40% of Anglophone Netflix subscribers have an annual household income between $75,000 and $150,000, with 54% reporting an annual household income greater than $200,000.

Survey feedback indicates that Netflix is being used to augment traditional TV, with more than 80% of its subscribers maintaining a paid TV subscription. Almost two in five Netflix subscribers have used a premium pay TV service such as TMN, Movie Central or HBO in the past month.

The survey also suggests the TV set remains very much at the centre of the viewing experience, with four in five of those who only use one screen to watch Netflix opting for the TV set. Among those who use multiple screens to watch Netflix, more than half say they use TV the most.

Netflix is also being used primarily to access TV content, with users spending just over half of their time watching TV content via the service. More than 80% of its subscribers (88%) access its content in a typical week.

Nearly two thirds of Netflix users have had their subscription for more than a year, with 32% of users saying they have subscribed to the service for more than two years. However, 15% of subscribers say they have had the service for less than six months.

The service also tends to encourage binge viewing, with 69% of subscribers indicating that they have watched three or more episodes of a TV show in a single sitting.